Bug-a-boo
by Obsessed Lass
Summary: How Aburame Shino gets the girl. ShinoSaku drabble series.
1. Butterflies

"Sakura-san, I would like to court you. If you let me, of course."

Hearing these words from the mouth of the Aburame heir threw Sakura completely off guard.

Huh?

"I want to court you--"

"I heard you the first time, Shino. I was just... surprised. Umm..."

Shino's eyes were, as always, undecipherable under those tinted glasses.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Shino, but I am not really looking forward to be in a relationship right now. Not that I don't want to be your friend, okay? It was really great that we got bundled together to work on this project. I actually got a chance to know you. But I don't see you that way, you know? I'm really sorry if somehow I gave you the wrong idea."

"You're sorely mistaken, Sakura-san. Why? Because my kikaichu can read heat signatures and you get flustered every time we are in close proximity."

"That's because your stupid bugs insist on getting under my breast bindings for some god awful reason!"

"Ah. To the contrary. They are attracted to the heat, Sakura-san. Why? Because rise in temperature indicates either fear or libido. And neither can be ignored."

Sakura, despite the ominous signs of a superhuman tantrum, found herself in a dilemma. Could Shino be right somehow? His bugs would never mislead him. But... Shino? She subconsciously harboured a crush on Bug Boy?

Ino was so going to die laughing.

Sakura sighed audibly.

"Fine... just one date, okay? Only because I respect your clan techniques too much. And I leave the second any of your bugs get under my clothes. Got it?"

Shino gave a victorious smirk.

*

"You owe me, dude. Big-time. I told ya she would fall for it!"

No matter how annoying Kiba's shit eating grin was, Shino had to concede.

It was unfortunate that he had to ask his mutt of a friend for help. But apparently "chicks" loved him. Poor brain-damaged females.

But Shino had no time to contemplate his friend's questionable attractiveness. He was recently having strange sensations whenever he was around the Godaime's apprentice and he intended to resolve the matter in his usual manner. Cautious, meticulous and strategically armed.

Even if it meant having a raucous Inuzuka as an accomplice and resorting to subterfuge to secure his chances with the girl whose sheer presence induced in him erratic palpitations.

He couldn't have asked his shy, romantically inept teammate for advice anyway.

"It's just the beginning, Kiba."

 _P.S. ShinoSaku deserves a lot more love, yeah?_


	2. Kiss and tell

Sakura had never expected Shino to actually kiss her, let alone initiate the whole thing. Sure, he had asked her out, which she had eventually chalked it up to certain malfunctioning kikaichu. But getting kissed by a guy like Shino? Yeah, it was as conceivable as Naruto never eating ramen again.

What was troublesome wasn't that Shino had kissed her. Sakura was no pushover. She had wanted to tell him that it was too soon to start sucking at each other's lips, even if there was a possibility for said sucking. They hadn't even progressed to the handholding stage yet!

But the problem was that Shino had turned out to be a damn good kisser.

So good that Sakura's protests had immediately died on her tongue after those surprisingly soft lips had attacked hers without any warning. Okay, there might have been a slightly romantic moment with those stupid butterflies hovering over their heads for some mysterious reason but that didn't mean you seized on it without any forethought! There was a sequence for these things dammit!

And how in the name of Orochimaru's tongue had Shino learnt to kiss so... He couldn't have had any prior experience, that was for certain. With a blabbermouth mutt for a best friend, there was absolutely no way that he could have secretly been in any relationship before. Besides, girls were hardly seduced by the bug factor. Unless they were into bugs themselves.

It was supposed to be sloppy, landing at the wrong places and being generally awful. Not a sensual encounter where his lips set over hers with uncanny ease, sucking with just the right pressure, no disgusting saliva business when he slyly cajoled her lips to part. Like he had done it a hundred times before.

Sakura plopped down on her futon with a loud sigh. There she was racking her brains about a stupid kiss (okay, it was more than one) after a grueling day at the hospital.

Seduced by the kisses of Aburame freaking Shino. Who was apparently a natural.

She was really in trouble.

*

What Sakura didn't know was that Shino had had some really serious practice in the kissing department not a long time ago.

"Dude, you have lost your mind!"

Shino didn't feel it necessary to dignify his teammate's outburst with a response.

"I love you, man but this is just way too much."

"Not at all. Why? You owe me. It was I who saved you when your lecherous self was caught in the Hyu-"

"Fine, fine. No need to rehash that episode," Kiba broke in with a visible shudder. Leave it to his fate that the only time his-- ahem presence had been unintentional, he was discovered by one furious Hyuga who'd have gladly castrated him there and then.

"This makes us even, dude. Ugh."

Kiba turned out to be a surprisingly good teacher.

"Ew, Shino, man, we are not exchanging saliva here! You just spat in my mouth! And what's up with that awful slurping noises? It's kissing, not eating a lollipop!"

Shino was rather slow, though determined to learn.

"Kami, even Akamaru is better than you!" Said creature howled in agreement.

Kiba was feeling quite proud of his pupil's progress by the time Hinata discovered them in the act.

"It's not what it seems like, I swear! Hinata! Hina-" His pleas dissipated in the wind as their teammate practically ran away after making some incoherent apologies.

"Oh man!" Kiba dejected fell on his back. "You better name your first born after me, Bug-boy."

Shino was totally unperturbed. As long as he was prepared, he didn't mind losing his first kiss to "Dog-breath" or even getting caught when making out with his best friend. It just wouldn't do to disappoint his reluctant pink-haired paramour.


	3. Ladybug

_A.N: Apologies in advance for the non-appearance of the lovable oddball!_

*

"Forehead!"

Sakura found herself being accosted by the unstoppable force that was Ino Yamanaka.

"The hell, Pig? Auditioning for a soap or what?"

Ino put her hands on her waist in a characteristic motion of intimidation.

"Don't give me that crap, Haruno. When were you going to tell me about a certain bug lover crawling his way between your sheets?"

"Ino!" Sakura hissed, cheeks turning an unflattering red. "We're not doing _that_!"

"Yeah, yeah. The next thing I know there'll be a pink-haired Aburame brat running around Konoha!"

Sakura sighed. She knew where all this was coming from.

"I'm sorry, Pig."

"Damn well you should be!"

"Hey!"

"Hnn," Ino huffed. "What did you expect? _No, Sakura-chan, it's totally fine that you didn't tell only your best friend of all time that you_ _are seeing someone. Who accidentally happens to be our former classmate. Ain't it just peachy!_ "

"I wasn't trying to keep anything from you, Ino." Sakura looked contrite. "Everything just happened so fast and I hardly get to see you anymore and it's all so totally unexpected cause it's Shino freaking Aburame and I still don't believe it myself and how could I even like someone after Sas--"

"Whoa!" Ino waved her hands, putting an end to Sakura's tirade. "Calm down, Forehead! It's okay, you hear me? Hell, it's more than okay. It's perfect! You are finally moving on. Any later and no one would have wanted a wrinkly bubblegum- haired harpy!"

"Gee, Pig, you sure know how to make me feel better."

" _Noblesse oblige_ , sweetheart!" Ino dramatically flicked her hair.

Sakura smiled. Trust Ino to insult her out of her insecurities.

"So..." Ino's expression was uncannily evocative of a frog that had just caught a succulent fly. "Shino, huh? Old habits sure die hard."

"What do you mean?" Sakura was confused.

Ino tapped her forehead in an exaggerated manner.

"Let's see... Broody. Uncommunicative. Mysterious. Obsessed with creepy creatures. I wonder who he reminds me of..."

"Hey! Shino is nothing like Sasuke-kun!"

"I should hope so, Forehead." Ino gave Sakura a searching look. "You honestly like him?"

Sakura frowned. "He's nobody's replacement, if that's what you mean."

"Good. Cause Sasuke-kun is totally gay!"

"Pig!"

"Admit it, Sakura. He's way too pretty and oblivious to be straight!"

"The next time we have our usual teeming-with-testosterone Team Seven reunion, I will let him know about your enlightening opinion. Who knows? That just might make him reconsider his avenger's agenda. "

"He can be the inspiration for Jiraiya-sama's next bestseller..." Ino wore a dreamy expression.

"Stop having lewd thoughts about my teammate, Pig!"

Ino daintily scoffed.

"Like you don't daydream about that sexy Aburame ass!"

"Wait a minute! How did you know that Shino's a--" Sakura abruptly clamped her fingers to her mouth.

Ino smirked. She was so going to rock the whole intelligence thing.

*

 _P.S. First of all, thank you so much for all the love! It really made me happy to know that there are a lot of people willing to put up with my shoddy writing just for the sake of their Shinophilia I kind of got sidetracked after the second chapter and would have postponed writing even longer but after receiving this sweet little review, I had to write something. It's pretty abysmal, I know, but hopefully inspiration will come a-knocking soon. It'd be really helpful if you guys could pitch in some ideas. The story's episodic, so prompts can be assimilated without much trouble, I think._ _Once again, apologies for the mediocre writing. And for postscripts almost as long as the main text!_


	4. Date Night

**_Date Night_**

Sakura felt apprehensive as she followed Shino through a messy trail in the woods. Now feeling a little anxious was a hardly uncommon phenomenon when it came to dates, but Sakura's nervousness was because of an altogether different reason. Shino had been fairly cryptic about their destination and when she had hazarded to ask if it involved insects, his answer had been a placid 'yes'.

Sakura liked to think that she had greatly overcome her initial aversion towards the insect community in general. Shinobi or not, she was in no way obligated to stamp down the feelings of repulsion that arose when your skin wass graced by the slithery, succulent underbelly of a cockroach. But dating Shino had been really effective in unlearning the reflexive reactions of disgust when it came to the itty bitty and not so itty bitty crawlers and fliers of the animal underworld.

But insects and dates? Yeah, Sakura was not so sure about that. Her instinctive predilection towards learning had led to many hours worth of conversation with her rather eccentric beau who, contrary to popular opinion, could be really forthcoming when it came to his most cherished subject. No wonder people thought he was the silent kind; there weren't many non-Aburames who would willingly listen to how insects not only made highly potent weapons, but were intriguing even in their most basic functions. Like, butterflies using their feet to taste food! Or, water striders literally walking upon water! Not only shinobis could do such seemingly impossible things, then!

As much as Sakura liked watching Shino talk with so much passion(it was infectious; he'd make a good teacher someday, she realized), she would have preferred not knowing certain facts which did nothing to alleviate the familiar recoil. Knowledge was power, yes, but she really didn't want to know anything about traumatic insemination or incestuous insect couplings. Eww. Typical of Shino to relay such disturbing information without the slightest hint of discomfort. Boy did he love all those critters.

There was almost something maternal about his affections - he didn't discriminate between cute little ladybugs and the aesthetically challenged dung beetles. It was endearing, actually, but then Sakura couldn't really claim to be objective when she, certified anal freak, found herself deliberately leaving breadcrumbs and other remnants for the rather mild-mannered ant family that occasionally inhabited her kitchen. Sometimes she was herself horrified by her sentimentality. Haruno Sakura and love had been historically not a very good combination.

But even with her newfound feelings of generosity, Sakura had trouble conflating insects with anything romantic. If Shino was taking her to see the crepuscular courtship ritual of cicadas or something, she was going to-

 _Oh_.

Sakura's internal monologue came abruptly to a stop as she realized that they had finally reached their destination. She took in the vista that greeted her, eyes dilating with wonder.

Fireflies.

Thousands and thousands of fireflies glittering in sync, forming ethereal patterns against the darkened sky.

Sakura felt as if she had suddenly stepped into a fairy tale.

"I knew you'd like it. Why? Because collective bioluminescence is apparently considered romantic by humans."

Sakura turned her head distractedly.

"Shino... You... This is perfect. Thank you."

Sakura was too enchanted to do anything more than squeeze her boyfriend's fingers.

Eyes fixated on the magical scene unfolding before her, she missed that it was not the dazzling fireflies that Shino was watching just as enraptured.

 _A.N: First of all, I am absolutely overwhelmed by the love heaped by you guys upon this story. Really, people, your words made me as lightheaded as a lovestruck teen! I wish I could keep up with your expectations for this story. There's hardly going to be proper character development, thanks to my non-existent writing skills in that department:( Light-hearted standalone snippets are all I can do. So my apologies in advance to all those who hoped for a sturdy plot. I'm really sorry, guys!_

 _I found myself looking up interesting facts about Shino's one true love (apart from Saku-chan, obviously) and it was... enlightening. There's some really cringeworthy facts out there regarding insect mating rituals. Like certain insects practically coercing females into the mating process. It's literally "fuck me or die"(check out the mating rituals of water striders). Then there are bedbugs practising something called "traumatic insemination" where the males rip through the abdominal cavity of the females with their genitalia. Ugh. And I thought the praying mantis dude had it rough!_

 _Once again, thank you so much for all the love! It means the world to me:)_


End file.
